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Amazon sniffs out Australian warehouses

Carolyn Cummins

Book barn … Amazon may be an online colossus but it still requires warehousing for its business. Photo: John McNamara

AMAZON, the world's largest online retailer, still has a need for bricks and mortar.

And with the growth of the internet, the global giant which made its name as an online bookseller is eyeing the Asia-Pacific region.

Property agents say Amazon has made it known in real estate circles that its expansion plans include Australia due to the supply of quality warehouses at attractive rentals.

It is understood company representatives will visit in coming months to tour prospective sites on the eastern seaboard.

Amazon could potentially lease an existing warehouse or sign up as a committed tenant for a greenfields property.

In the past two years Goodman Group has built nine warehouses covering about 700,000 square metres for Amazon, mainly across Europe. Amazon will no doubt be talking to Goodman if it enters Australia in a significant way. One agent said the prospect of Amazon ''kicking tyres'' in Australia made sense given the internet accounts for more than 10 per cent of retail sales here.

In the US, online shopping, or e-tailing, is closer to 20 per cent of retail sales and rising.

Goods sold on the internet need to be stored and distributed, and while courier services such as DHL and Australia Post can deliver within 24 hours, a local presence for Amazon is considered to be more cost efficient.

It is expected the company will look at warehouses of up to 40,000 to 50,000 square metres, which is about the size of sites occupied by retailers such as Coles and Woolworths. Amazon storage would have to be near transport hubs such as Port Botany and Port of Melbourne.

A greater Amazon presence is likely to have some impact on the besieged Australian book industry, which has seen bricks and mortar stores close in the past few years.